Francis Commey
The Tampa Bay Lightning have defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 to win their second Stanley Cup in the team’s history.
The Lightning have redeemed themselves after an embarrassing playoff outing last year that saw them become the second team in NHL history to be swept by an eighth seed team in the playoffs.
Mike Gallimore, an editor for Meta Hockey who also produces hockey analytics for the site, said The Tampa Bay Lightning finally have validated themselves.
“The Tampa Bay Lightning finally have the ultimate validation they have been seeking after growing into one of the league’s models organization’s, on and off the ice, over the past decade,” Gallimore said.
It was never an easy path to glory, with multiple let-downs and apparent failures in previous seasons.
There was a lot of scrutiny coming into the year, especially towards management, Gallimore said.
“It would have been easy to pick a scapegoat, especially by opting to fire head coach Jon Cooper and into the fall, when doubts might have stirred others to action,” Gallimore said. “Instead, BriseBois showed faith in the personnel, from top to bottom and when his club found itself yet again comfortably in a playoff spot.”
Sean Leahy, an NBCSports NHL writer, said this is a long time coming for the Lightning, but a lot of credit goes to management.
“After losing the 2015 Cup Final and falling short the last few years, including last season’s First Round sweep by Columbus, they came into this season on a mission for redemption,” Leahy said.”GM Julien BriseBois strengthened his team throughout the season, and their depth came through when they needed it the most. They had an impressive run to the Cup, one that showed very little was going to stand in their way.”
However, despite all the set backs from last season Lightning Head Coach, Jon Copper’s faith in his team never wavered.
John Cooper, the Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, said in an interview with Sportsnet that you never know when you’ll have a chance at redemption, but heartbreak is the reason why they were able to compete in the finals.